Candidates can apply to the two-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy program which includes classes and case seminars. Successful completion of the two years of classes, as well as completion of required clinical work under supervision and personal treatment as below, will lead to a certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from SDPC.
The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program is intended for clinicians who wish to acquire expertise in psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy (intensive face-to-face psychotherapy), and to apply a psychodynamic perspective to clinical work in all treatment settings In this training program, candidates will investigate the mind from the perspectives of current psychoanalytic theories of normal and pathological development and function. They will explore how the developing individual acquires the capacity to know and care for others, attains a gender identity, develops standards and ideals, and balances working, loving, and living throughout the life cycle.
- Application requirements: Applicants should be licensed professionals in the state of California; exceptions require a waiver. The application process includes letters of reference and faculty interviews.
- Course Content: The coursework for the psychoanalytic psychotherapy program is now exactly the same as the first two years’ curriculum for the psychoanalytic training program, and candidates in both programs attend classes together.
- Concurrent Consultation: Psychotherapy candidates will participate in individual case consultation during the two-year program. Consultants are chosen from the SDPC faculty; consultation with non-faculty consultants requires a waiver. Fifty hours of consultation are required for completion of the program. Consultation hours are divided among at least two different consultants. Consultation is best utilized to address intensive individual therapy cases in the psychotherapy candidate’s caseload, but it may also be applied to other types of clinical work performed by the candidate. The cost of consultation is not included in tuition fees.
- Personal Treatment: Psychotherapy candidates are required to engage in their own personal psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Intensive psychodynamic work with patients typically calls for the therapist to have a level of self-knowledge that is best attained with the assistance of intensive personal psychoanalytic therapy. The cost of personal treatment is not included in tuition fees.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy graudates have the option to return to the 5-year Psychoanaltyic program at a later date. SDPC is committed to being as flexible as possible so that we can offer the most access we can to people who wish to learn about psychoanalytic ideas.